Despite the sustained challenges faced by the market at home, delegates to this year’s Builders Merchants Federation All Industry Conference created a positive and energetic vibe in the Catalan capital of Barcelona as they united to discuss change and transformation in the building materials sector.
Hosted by the inimitable Mark Durden-Smith, a reflective tone also permeated this year’s Conference theme of Building Tomorrow Together, with BMF Chairman Richard Hill referencing Barcelona’s architectural legacy and highlighting the sector’s transformation since the city last played host to the BMF event in 1995 — a time when the larger chains were just emerging, family-run merchants more commonplace and UK-owned manufacturers filled the market.
Richard stressed the importance of understanding the sector’s past to help inform and build its future, with the paramount need to keep up with the accelerated pace of change. It was a theme picked up by CEO John Newcomb, noting that 1995 also saw the early days of Amazon and eBay, yet the event — with its record attendance including some 30% as first-time delegates — was firmly focused on looking forwards.
John highlighted how the BMF has grown its membership base and influence to further future-proof the £52bn building materials sector, outlining the organisation’s ongoing efforts to improve member engagement, policy advocacy and skills development to bolster the industry’s resilience, relevance and reach.
Workforce development took centre stage, with John highlighting the BMF’s biggest ever investment of £400,000 into the “Make a Material Difference” sector recruitment campaign. The 2023 Istanbul Conference pledge to deliver 15,000 apprenticeships by 2030 has already been surpassed, reflecting the sustained commitment to tackling skills shortages and nurturing future talent.
Other future-focused initiatives were showcased, including more on the Building Materials Digital Services product data platform being developed in partnership with NMBS and the launch of a “Branch of Tomorrow” research project led by industry expert Steve Collinge, with the findings to be revealed at the Members’ Day event in September.
In addition, the Institute of Builders Merchants is to be relaunched to drive up professional standards and individual development whilst the BMF website will also be overhauled later this year.
An engaging mix of top-level guest speakers — including Casper Berry, Nic Hamilton and Ellis Watson — in addition to informative breakout seminars and panel sessions went on to tackle vital industry topics such as risk management, business disruption, attracting and retaining talent, water management (courtesy of headline sponsor Aco), decarbonisation and digitisation.
The future of housebuilding, meanwhile, was the central thread in an engaging segment featuring industry voices from the Home Builders Federation, Taylor Wimpey, Stark Building Materials UK and independent merchant, Tippers Building Materials. Here, whilst recent government pronouncements were welcomed, the growing disparity between national and SME developers was highlighted along with sustained concerns about the planning process and the need for reform.
“Joe Tipper posed challenging questions about the role of private equity finance in the merchant sector and the impact of government tax policy on the family-run firms who have a “sense of purpose that goes beyond profit.”
Stark’s John Carter provided a candid review of Jewson’s transformation following its acquisition. He described the business as having “lost direction” and outlined efforts to rebuild local autonomy and strengthen branch-level service. His ten-point plan includes removing management layers, improving stock levels and fostering a far more responsive and proactive sales culture.
Joe Tipper, meanwhile, posed challenging questions about the role of private equity finance in the merchant sector and the impact of government tax policy on the family-run firms who have a “sense of purpose that goes beyond profit.”
A key breakout session saw ECI Software Solutions’ Chris Fisher discuss the practical potential of AI in merchant operations — from the automation of repetitive tasks to data analysis and marketing support — with Chris suggesting that, amending the oft-quoted fear, “AI is not going to replace people. However, those who embrace the technology will replace those who do not.”
The evergreen ‘Meet the Merchant’ speed-dating sessions (under their more formal title of ‘Merchant / Supplier Connections’) remain a central element of the event, facilitating the means of creating and fostering beneficial business relationships. And away from the formal proceedings, an array of networking opportunities were built into the event — from coffee breaks and social activities to the evening dinearounds — in recognition of the central importance of people and individual connections to the sector’s long-standing success.
Inspirational keynote speeches from Baroness Harriet Harman and multiple Olympic medallist Rebecca Adlington brought the business sessions to a close, whilst over £14,000 was raised for charity during the Gala Dinner that formally concluded the event at the historic La Llotja De Mar near the Barcelona waterfront. Funds will be split between the BMF’s nominated charities for 2025 — Variety, the Children’s Charity and The Educational Frontier Trust (TEFT), which provides free education for vulnerable children in Kenya.
BMF CEO John Newcomb commented: “The entire conference raised the bar once again for our bi-annual All Industry event. I want to thank our brilliant speakers, our returning host Mark Durden-Smith and the BMF team for working so hard to ensure that delegates had a great time and went home with plenty of food for thought, as well as new contacts.”
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